


In Your Arms

by starbreads



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 20:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8860747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbreads/pseuds/starbreads
Summary: Astra has nightmares, Alex knows how to help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this sitting on my laptop since March and only just now finished it, whoops.   
> #BringAstraBack2k16

“Why is it that you’re here again?” Alex huffs as she grabs spare blankets and pillows from the hallway closet.

“Because somebody couldn’t reign in their anger” Kara looks pointedly over at Astra who is siting on the couch opposite of her.

“Well if your infernal telecommunication devices weren’t so confusing,” Astra glares at the device in her hand, “then I wouldn’t have punched that wall in the first place. I have never typed the word ‘horny’ before, let alone enough times for the phone to register it as a frequently used word. ”

“Besides, its not like you were doing anything actually important where you?” asks Kara with a grin.

Alex laughs and throws a blanket at Kara who catches it easily. She plops herself next to her sister and grabs a plate of pot stickers. “Not really kiddo, but that’s not the point. The point is that the reason you’re here is because Astra accidentally texted me asking if I was horny?”

“And then she punched a wall which won’t be fixed until next week.” Kara supplies helpfully.

“I meant hungry” Astra mumbles as a red blush creeps up her neck, “I was simply trying to ask if you’d like to join Kara and I for a night in with take-out.”

Astra looks away from the two sisters sitting across from her, both with matching grins on their faces. She unceremoniously begins to shove rice noodles in her mouth, hyper aware that her niece and her sister are giggling like children as they look in her direction, speaking in hushed tones as she does her best to block them out and enjoy the movie Alex set up. Besides, Finding Nemo has always been her favorite. 

“I’m sorry about the wall Little One” Astra says moments later as she finishes the last of her noodles and walks to the kitchen to place the now empty container in the trash bin. 

Kara waves her hand dismissively, “it’s fine Aunt Astra, at least you managed to avoid hitting the water pipes. Plus, we get to sleepover at Alex’s which is something I haven’t done in a while.”

“Yes! I miss having you around” Alex smiles and hugs her sister tightly. “And it’ll give you a chance to test out my awesome new futon.”

“Yeah well I think my Kryptonian body could handle your futon for a few nights” Kara smiles back and pats the mattress under her fondly. 

The older Danvers sister nods and begins to gather up the take-out containers scattered all over her apartment. She finishes quickly and stretches out on the couch that Astra had abandoned, flicking rapidly between channels. 

“I was sitting there, Agent” says Astra as she shoots Alex a glare that she ignores.

“ ‘Was’ is the keyword General, you snooze you loose.”

Astra sighs and mutters something under her breath. Kara’s head whips around so fast, her glasses fly off. “Astra!” she chokes out.

“Sorry Little One, sometimes I forget that you can hear me from across a room,” Astra has at least the decency to look a bit sheepish at her niece’s scolding, “still, I am not wrong now, am I?”

Thankfully, Kara’s phone rings loudly and Kara is grateful for the interruption, saving her from replying. She answers the call quickly. 

“Hel- Yes. Yes I did. Okay. Okay. Yes. I’ll be right over. Yes Miss Grant.”

“What does the Queen want now?” mocks Alex as she looks over at her sister.

Kara sighs deeply and hangs up, “Apparently some idiot wants to rerun a print that Cat has already denied, twice. And there was some other thing she needed help with but she didn’t say what. “ Kara begins packing up her purse, grabbing a rather large and heavy looking binder she had thrown over Alex’s kitchen counter earlier in the night, and balancing it on top of the several notebooks she already had piled in her hands. 

“I need to go help her, sorry.” Kara throws a quick arm around Astra in a hug before her pile can come tumbling down. “You two play nice okay? I’ll probably be a while so don’t wait up.”

“You’re so whipped” mutters Alex under her breath. 

“I heard that!” calls Kara over her shoulder as she steps out of Alex’s apartment and closes the door behind her. 

“I know you humans have interesting ways of showing affection, but does this Cat Grant really whip Kara?” asks Astra as she walks over and takes up Kara’s now empty spot, tentatively stretching her legs out along the length of the couch. 

Alex chokes on the drink in her hand, setting it down and trying to control her laughter. “oh my god Astra no, Cat Grant does not whip Kara.” Alex settles on the channel that exclusively features old Friends’ reruns. Astra frowns at the interruption of her movie, but stays quiet.

“Then what did you mean by saying your sister was ‘whipped’ ” Astra emphasizes the word with air quotations.

Alex can’t help but smile at the gesture, knowing the Kryptonian must have it picked up from someone on earth, most likely her niece, “I meant that Kara is at Cat Grant’s beck and call and can’t help but comply with any little request that crazy woman asks of her.”

“You mean in the same way you do for Kara?” Astra tilts her head to the side.

“Something like that,” Alex nods and focuses on the television.

A few minutes later she catches a sudden movement from the corner of her eye and turns. Astra is still sitting rigidly in the couch across from her, except for her head as it keeps falling forward every few seconds or so as the older women nods off. 

“Alright sleepyhead, lets get you settled,” Alex can’t help but giggle. Watching the usually collected General nod off on her couch is something she never thought she’d see. After Non had been defeated, Astra had gone to work for the DEO, but they still required her to be monitored during a trial period, needing to stay with either of the Danvers’ sisters until she was given the all clear. 

Alex would never admit she felt a sliver of disappointment when the General opted to stay with her niece. 

Alex lightly shook Astra’s shoulder, “hey, get up so I can fix the couch for you.”

“No Alura I’m sleeping on the bed, I got the couch last time” Astra mumbled sleepily.

Alex chuckled and tried picking up Astra, putting her arms under the other woman’s and lifting. “Sure, whatever you want, you just gotta stand up so I can fix the bed for you.”

“Okay” Astra yawned and let herself be carried by Alex. Alex stood the sleepy Kryptonian next to the couch and kept an arm on her shoulder to steady her. 

Alex somehow managed to pull out the futon and drape covers on it with one hand. When she finished she guided Astra to the edge of the mattress. “Alrighty General, all set.”

“Thanks Alura you’re the best.”

Alex hummed and watched at the Kryptonian woman made quick work of her clothes and settled in the bed wearing nothing but her underclothes, which did a bad job of leaving anything to the imagination. Alex turned away quickly, letting out a loud breath through her nose. 

“I think I’m gonna hit the hay too, night Astra.” Alex automatically went through the motions of getting ready for bed, giving a last quick peek at Astra in the living room. The Kryptonian was sound asleep, save for soft little whimpers and sleep-sounds. 

Alex watched her a moment longer. In sleep, the hard lines of Astra’s face were smooth, making her look less like a fierce general and more like the thirty-seven year old she really was. Astra mumbled something and turned in her sleep. 

Once satisfied that the Kryptonian was settled in for the night, Alex tucked herself into the covers of her own bed, scooting to one edge of the bed in case Kara ended up wanting to share a bed, which happened often enough that Alex was used to sleeping on the right side of the bed anyway. 

She sighed and closed her eyes, ready for sleep to overtake her, and it would have, were it not for the loud piercing scream from the living room.

Alex shot up, hand reaching out for the gun that always rested next to her bed. The bullets were useless against a Kryptonian but the heavy weight as the gun settled against her hand and the familiar grip made her feel safer. 

Alex peered around the door into the living room, wary as she wasn’t sure what to expect. It couldn’t be Kara, she’d texted Alex that she was staying at Miss Grant’s for the night, (which if Alex was right, was because she got lucky), so that left Astra or maybe a burglar? 

There was a rapid movement and Alex turned, gun extended in the direction of the couch Astra was occupying. The general was tossing and turning so harshly, the couch shifted with her movement. 

“Astra?” Alex called out. Was the general planning to attack Alex now that Kara was gone? That didn’t make any sense. Astra had proven more times than Alex could count that she was definitely on their side. 

Astra screamed again, followed by a groaning sound. Alex lowered her gun, knowing she wasn’t in danger anymore. The other woman was simply suffering from a terrible case of nightmares. 

Alex set the gun down on the coffee table and tentatively reached a hand out towards Astra’s shoulder. “Astra. Hey, Astra wake up.”

She shook her shoulder twice to no avail. Looked like the general was a heavy sleeper then. 

Alex knelt next to the other woman and shook her harder, “Astra, come on wake up, you’re scaring me.” Alex’s voice cracked on the last syllable. It hurt her seeing the mighty general reduced to nothing more than sad whimpers and soft screams. 

She placed a hand on Astra’s hip and shook harder, hoping to get the general out of the nightmare world and back into the real one.

Astra sprung out from under the sheets suddenly, grabbing Alex’s upper body and twisting them so they both landed on the floor with Astra straddling Alex and a murderous look in her eyes. 

Alex struggled against her grip but she was no match at all for Astra’s superhuman strength. Astra stared at Alex for a long moment, her breath coming out in hard gasps, eventually slowing into a more regular pattern. 

“Agent Danvers I-I I’m sorry.” Her grip slackened on Alex’s wrist and they fell to the floor with quiet thumps, “I thought you were one of Non’s soldiers and I realize now, I was dreaming, it felt so real though.”

Astra rocked back, settling her weight on her knees, though she made no move to get up from her position, as she looked around Alex’s apartment. 

“Non was” Astra took a sharp intake of breath and slowly let it out, looking down again to meet Alex’s eyes, “h-he was going to kill you, and I couldn’t do anything, I was just watching. His soldiers held me back as I watched him, touch your face, like you were his and, and he was hurting you. It was so horrible Alexandra.”

Astra carefully cupped Alex’s chin and turned her head from side to side, checking for non-existing wounds. Alex simply watched her, knowing that Astra needed to reassure herself. Kara suffered from enough nightmares and woke up needing to make sure Alex was okay, that she was used to the tactile Kryptonians by now. 

Astra let her chin go and used both her hands to run them over Alex’s body, over her chest, down to her abdomen until she could go no further. The Agent couldn’t help but squirm a little, not that she was uncomfortable, but this was Astra, who was wearing nothing but her underclothes and was in a rather compromising position. 

In one quick move, Astra was sitting on the futon, wearing the shirt she’d had on before she had gone to bed, wringing her hands in front of her. Alex blinked in surprise, slowly sitting up.

“My most sincerest apologies Agent, that was too forward of me.” Astra ran a hand through her dark curls, the startling white strand of hair catching the light from the lamp outside the window and Alex’s attention. “if your heart beats any faster I’m afraid you might go into cardiac arrest and then Kara would kill me if anything happened to you.”  
“No it’s fine, I understand.” Alex slowly rose, trying not to startle Astra and agitate her further, “Kara was the same way, still is sometimes. I learned how to help her though.”

“How?” Astra looks at Alex like maybe she holds the answer to a question she’s had all her life, “how do you make it go away?”

Alex tries not to squirm under her gaze, “I hold her. I don’t think the nightmares ever go away, not really. But, Kara says it helps to feel, to be held, to hold on to something real. We uh, cuddle ya know? Fall asleep like that. Less now that Kara has Cat, but it helps.”

“Cuddle? Alexandra I don’t really understand.” Astra’s head tilts to the side, mimicking Kara’s confused puppy look, and Alex wonders if all Kryptonians have a secret power where they are adorably irresistible or if it runs solely in Kara’s family.

“Like hugging Astra, just lying down,” Alex laughs softly, then clears her throat, “didn’t uh, you and Non ever cuddle?”

Astra is staring at Alex, but her eyes seem far away when she replies. “My partnership with Non was out of necessity, survival more than anything. Love was not in the equation beyond caring for each other the same way someone cares for a close friend.” 

The General’s eyes shift back into focus, green eyes piercing into Alex’s. “So no Agent Danvers, Non and I never _cuddled_.” 

“Oh,” Alex’s voice is soft, sadness creeping into the edges. She pauses and takes a deep breath as if steadying herself, “Astra, would you like to cuddle?”

Astra swallows before nodding slowly. “Sure, yes. If it helps Kara, it could help me, right?” She sounds slightly desperate and Alex wonders how long the nightmares have been plaguing her at night, why Kara never mentioned it before. But it could be that either her sister is oblivious to her aunt’s troubles, or Astra is barely sleeping, if at all. 

Astra looks sort of helpless, a little awkward even, and Alex would never imagine the General to look anything short of confident, so she decides to spring into action, grabbing one of Astra’s lightly trembling hands and tugging her to her room.

She pulls back the other side of the bed and climbs in, opening her arms and gesturing towards herself, “c’mere, I don’t bite.”

Astra hesitates at the foot of the bed, unsure and a little wary.

“Astra, lets just try it out, if you don’t like it you can leave.” Alex says softly, “plus I’m a pretty great cuddler, or so I’ve heard.”

The older woman still looks a little reluctant, but she climbs in the bed next to Alex, where she’s promptly pulled into the warm circle of Alex’s arms and pressed into her chest. 

“Close your eyes, Astra. Focus on my heartbeat, breath with me.” Alex’s voice is still soft, ever patient, so Astra does as she’s told, her eyes fluttering close and her breath evening out, timed to the steady beat of Alex’s heart.

She shifts slightly to a more comfortable position, ever aware of the Agent’s arms around her and the body under her, but Alex shifts with her, letting Astra’s own movements guide them, until they’re settled more comfortably in the bed, Astra’s head tucked under Alex’s chin, the agents’ arms wrapping around her as if she were indestructible and not the other way around. 

With a soft sigh, Astra finally relaxes, melting into the body beside her and trusting Alex to keep her safe.

Alex will admit it is a little odd to be cuddling with a woman only a few months ago was trying to kill her, but Astra looked so small and broken and so damn tired that she was just about willing to do anything to help her out.

Within a few minutes, Astra’s breaths even out into a pattern one Alex easily recognizes as her sleeping, and the agent closes her eyes, hoping that Astra finally finds the peace that she has been looking for.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: [tumblr](http://kryptobytes.tumblr.com)


End file.
